書蟲四級《克蘭福德》：6.布魯諾尼先生

6．Signor Brunoni

6．布魯諾尼先生

Soon after Mrs Jamieson's party, my father became ill and I had to go home to Drumble. I stayed there for most of the rest of the year. Then, at the end of November, I received a mysterious letter from Miss Matty.

賈米森夫人的聚會后不久，我父親就生病了，我不得不回德萊姆伯爾的家去。這一年余下的大部分時間我都待在那里。后來，11月底，我收到了馬蒂小姐的一封神秘來信。

She hoped my father was well, she wrote, and could I tell her if turbans were fashionable? Something so exciting was going to happen. She must have a new cap, and perhaps she was too old to care about such things, but she would very much like a turban... Oh, and would I like to come for a visit next Tuesday? Sea-green was her favourite colour...

她希望我父親身體健康，她寫道，還問我能不能告訴她穆斯林頭巾是否時髦。有些非常激動人心的事就要發(fā)生了。她必須有一頂新帽子，還說也許她太老了，不該在乎這樣的事情，不過她很想要一條穆斯林頭巾……哦，她問我下周二愿不愿去一趟？她最喜歡海藍色……

Fortunately, there was a note of explanation at the end: 'My dear, Signor Brunoni is going to show his wonderful magic at Cranford Assembly Room next Wednesday evening.'

好在最后她附加了一條解釋：“親愛的，布魯諾尼先生下周三晚上要在克蘭福德大會廳舉行神奇的魔術(shù)表演。”

I was very glad to accept the invitation from my dear Miss Matty, and very anxious to stop her wearing a great turban on her gentle little head. So I bought her a pretty blue cap instead, which disappointed her terribly. She followed me into my bedroom, and I think she was still hoping to find a sea-green turban somewhere inside my cap-box.

我很高興接受親愛的馬蒂小姐的邀請，也很急于阻止她在她那高貴的小腦袋上戴一條大大的穆斯林頭巾。所以我給她買了一頂漂亮的藍色無沿帽代替，這讓她極為失望。她跟著我走進我的臥室，我想她仍舊希望在我的帽盒里找到海藍色的穆斯林頭巾。

I'm sure you tried, my dear,' she said sadly, looking at the cap. 'It's just like the caps all the ladies in Cranford are wearing. I suppose turbans haven't arrived in Drumble yet?'

“我肯定你試著找過了，親愛的，”她看著帽子，難過地說，“這跟克蘭福德所有女士們戴的帽子一樣。我想德萊姆伯爾還沒有穆斯林頭巾吧？”

She left the room to welcome Miss Pole and Mrs Forrester to tea. 'It was silly to expect anything fashionable from the Drumble shops, I suppose,' I heard her tell them. 'Poor girl! She did her best.'

她離開房間去迎接波爾小姐和福里斯特夫人來喝茶。“我想，指望德萊姆伯爾的商店里會有時髦的東西實在是太不明智了。”我聽到她對她們說，“可憐的姑娘！她已經(jīng)盡力了。”

But Miss Pole had had an adventure, and was waiting impatiently to describe it. 'I happened to go into the George Inn today,' she began when I entered. 'My Betty has a cousin who's a maid there, you know, and I thought Betty would like news of her. Well, there was no one around, so I walked up the stairs and into the Assembly Room. And there I saw that people were getting things ready for tomorrow night. I was just going behind the curtain, by mistake, when a gentleman stepped forward. He asked in very pretty broken English if he could help me. He didn't want me to see behind that curtain, it seemed. So, most politely, he showed me out of the room.

但波爾小姐有一番奇遇，正急于講給大家聽。“我今天碰巧去了喬治旅館。”我進去的時候她開始說道，“我家貝蒂有個表妹在那里當女仆，你們知道，我以為貝蒂想聽到她的消息。嗯，周圍沒人，所以我就上了樓梯走進了大會廳。在那兒，我看見有人正在為明天晚上做準備。我不小心走錯了，正好走到幕布后面去了，就在那時，一位先生走上前來。他操著一口蹩腳的英語問我有什么他可以幫忙的。似乎他不想讓我看見幕布后面的東西。所以，他非常禮貌地把我?guī)С隽四莻€房間。

Wait! You've not heard all my story yet! As I was going downstairs again, I met Betty's cousin—and she told me that the gentleman was Signor Brunoni! And then, it was so strange, I met the same gentleman again on his way up!'

“等等！你們還沒聽我講完呢！我下樓的時候，碰到了貝蒂的表妹——她告訴我那位先生就是布魯諾尼先生！后來，真奇怪，我在那位先生上樓的時候又碰到了他！”

So Miss Pole had met the conjurer himself! Oh, what questions we asked her! 'Did he have a beard?' 'Was he young or old?' 'Was he fair or dark?' 'What did he really look like?'

那么說波爾小姐已經(jīng)見過魔術(shù)師本人了！哦，我們問她的都是些什么問題?。?ldquo;他有胡子嗎？”“他年輕還是年老？”“他皮膚是白還是黑？”“他到底長什么樣？”

We talked about magic all evening. Miss Pole did not believe in it: conjurers' tricks could be learnt from a book, she said. Mrs Forrester believed in magic, ghosts, everything. Miss Matty was not sure what she believed—and always agreed with the last speaker.

我們整晚都在談?wù)撃g(shù)。波爾小姐不相信魔術(shù)：魔術(shù)師的把戲可以從書里學到，她說。福里斯特夫人相信魔術(shù)、鬼怪，所有的東西。馬蒂小姐拿不準自己到底信什么——她總是和最后說話的人意見一致。

The next evening, the four of us met in gentle excitement at the entrance to the George Inn. From there, we went upstairs together to the Assembly Room. Miss Pole asked a waiter if any of the county families were coming, as they would expect to sit in the front row. When he shook his head, Miss Matty and Mrs Forrester sat in the front row, where Lady Glenmire and Mrs Jamieson soon joined them. Miss Pole and I sat immediately behind, in the second row. All the shopkeepers sat together at the back, talking and laughing happily. I got rather bored with waiting, and wanted to turn round and look at them, but Miss Pole begged me not to. It was not the correct way to behave, she said. So our group was dull and quiet. Mrs Jamieson fell asleep.

第二天晚上，我們四人在喬治旅館門口碰面，個個都有些激動。我們從那里一起上樓來到大會廳。波爾小姐問一個侍者縣上有沒有哪家來，因為他們可能會坐在前排。侍者搖了搖頭，于是馬蒂小姐和福里斯特夫人就在前排就坐，格蘭米爾夫人和賈米森夫人不久也和她們坐在了一起。波爾小姐和我坐在了緊靠她們后面的第二排。所有的店主們都坐在后排高興地說說笑笑。我等得有些不耐煩了，想回頭看看他們，可是波爾小姐求我不要那么做。那樣做有失風度，她說。所以我們這群人安安靜靜的，無趣得很。賈米森夫人都睡著了。

Finally, the curtain went up. We saw, at a little table, a fantastic-looking gentleman in Turkish dress, with a long beard and a turban.

終于，幕布拉起來了。我們看見在一張小桌子旁，坐著一位長相怪異的男士，他身穿土耳其服裝，留著長長的胡須，頭戴穆斯林頭巾。

Miss Matty looked at me. 'You see, my dear, people are wearing turbans,' she said sadly.

馬蒂小姐看著我。“你看，親愛的，人們現(xiàn)在都戴穆斯林頭巾。”她難過地說。

But we had no time for more conversation. The Grand Turk rose and said he was Signor Brunoni.

但是我們沒時間多說了。那位高貴的土耳其人站起來自稱是布魯諾尼先生。

I don't believe him!' said Miss Pole loudly. 'Signor Brunoni didn't have a beard.'

“我不信！”波爾小姐大聲說，“布魯諾尼先生沒有胡子。”

This woke Mrs Jamieson. She opened her eyes wide, and the Grand Turk, who had looked crossly at Miss Pole, began his magic.

這吵醒了賈米森夫人。她睜大了眼睛，而那位高貴的土耳其人剛才還在生氣地看著波爾小姐，現(xiàn)在則開始表演魔術(shù)了。

Now we were surprised and delighted—all except Miss Pole. Such tricks! I could not imagine, even with Miss Pole's whispered explanations, how he did them. It was all so wonderful that Miss Matty and Mrs Forrester became anxious.

現(xiàn)在我們又驚奇又高興——除了波爾小姐。這么有趣的戲法！即便有波爾小姐在低聲解釋，我仍無法想像他到底是怎么做的。簡直太棒了，連馬蒂小姐和福里斯特夫人都有些躍躍欲試了。

Do you think it's quite right for us to come and see such things?' I heard Miss Matty whisper. 'Is there something not quite—?' She shook her head.

“你覺得我們來這兒看這樣的東西合適嗎？”我聽到馬蒂小姐低聲說，“有沒有什么不太——？”她搖了搖頭。

I was asking myself the same question,' Mrs Forrester whispered back. 'It's so very strange. I'm certain that was one of my ribbons on his table just now...'

“我也在問自己同樣的問題，”福里斯特夫人低聲回答，“真奇怪。我確信剛才桌子上放著我的一條絲帶……”

Suddenly, Miss Matty half-turned towards me. 'My dear, will you look round (you don't live in the town—no one will talk about it), and see if Mr Hayter the rector is here?'

突然，馬蒂小姐半側(cè)過身朝向我：“親愛的，你能不能朝四周看看（你不住在鎮(zhèn)上——沒人會談?wù)撨@件事），看看教區(qū)長海特先生在不在？”

I looked round and saw the tall, thin rector among his schoolboys. His kind face was all smiles, and the boys were laughing. I told Miss Matty that the Church approved of Signor Brunoni, and she began to enjoy herself again.

我朝四周看去，發(fā)現(xiàn)又高又瘦的教區(qū)長正坐在他的男學生們中間。他慈祥的臉上滿是笑容，而孩子們都在大聲歡笑。我告訴馬蒂小姐教會允許布魯諾尼先生這么做，她就又開始欣賞起表演了。

Soon the excitement was over. Signor Brunoni disappeared from Cranford, and the only result of his visit was a new readiness among the ladies to believe in strange happenings.

激動人心的表演不久就結(jié)束了。而布魯諾尼先生也從克蘭福德消失，他這次造訪的唯一結(jié)果就是女士們開始相信各種奇怪的事情了。

Six weeks later, however, Miss Pole had another adventure. Lady Glenmire was now a friend, and one morning the two of them went out walking together. About three miles from Cranford, on the road to London, they stopped at a small inn called the 'Rising Sun' to ask the way across the fields.

不過，六個星期后，波爾小姐又有了一次奇遇。格蘭米爾夫人現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)成了她的朋友，一天早晨，她們倆一起外出散步。她們沿著去倫敦的路走出克蘭福德大約三英里，在一家叫作“日出”的小旅館前停了下來，想要問問穿過田野的路怎么走。

A little girl came in while we were there,' Miss Pole told us that afternoon. 'The landlady said she was the only child of a married couple who were staying in the house. Now, listen to this! About six weeks ago, the landlady said, a horse-and-cart turned over right outside the inn. In the cart were two men, one woman and this child, plus a great box of strange things. One of the men, the child's father, was hurt and has been at the inn ever since. The other man (his twin brother, she believes) drove quickly away in the cart, and took the box with him. Well, my dears, the man who was hurt is Signor Brunoni! We met his wife—a good, honest person—and she says his real name is Samuel Brown!'

“我們在那兒的時候進來一個小女孩兒，”那天下午波爾小姐告訴我們，“老板娘說她是住在這里的一對夫婦的獨生女?，F(xiàn)在，聽著！老板娘說，大約六個星期前，有一輛馬車駛到了旅館門口。車里有兩個男人、一個女人和這個孩子，另外還有一大箱奇怪的東西。其中一個男人，也就是孩子的父親，受了傷，來了以后一直住在旅館里。另一個男人（他的孿生兄弟，她認為）很快駕車離開了，箱子也一并帶走了。哦，親愛的，受傷的那個男人是布魯諾尼先生！我們見到了他妻子——一個誠實的好人——她說他的真名是塞繆爾·布朗！”

The conjurer's family, it seemed, now had no money, and Miss Pole and Lady Glenmire had decided to help them. In fact, Lady Glenmire had gone straight to Mr Hoggins, the Cranford doctor, to beg him to ride over to the 'Rising Sun' that same afternoon.

似乎魔術(shù)師一家現(xiàn)在沒錢了，波爾小姐和格蘭米爾夫人決定幫助他們。實際上，格蘭米爾夫人徑直走到克蘭福德的醫(yī)生霍金斯先生那里，請求他當天下午騎馬去日出旅館。

Miss Matty and I were now as interested in this news as Miss Pole was. So was Mrs Forrester when she heard about it. The ladies waited anxiously for Mr Hoggins's opinion. When Mr Hoggins said that, with care, the conjurer would get better, they brought him to Cranford. Lady Glenmire promised to pay the doctor's bills. Miss Pole found comfortable lodgings for the family. Miss Matty sent a carriage for them. Mrs Forrester was not too proud to help, either. Though she was related to the Bigges of Bigelow Hall, here she was, taking nice things to eat to a poor, sick conjurer! It was wonderful to see all the kindness.

現(xiàn)在馬蒂小姐和我像波爾小姐一樣對這個消息感興趣，福里斯特夫人聽到此事后也是如此。女士們焦急地等待著霍金斯先生的診斷意見。當霍金斯先生說，如果照料得當，魔術(shù)師就會好起來時，她們就把他帶到了克蘭福德。格蘭米爾夫人答應(yīng)支付他的醫(yī)療費，波爾小姐為這家人找到了一個舒適的住處，馬蒂小姐給他們派了一輛馬車。福里斯特夫人也不甘落后，雖然她和比奇洛廳的比格一家有親戚關(guān)系，但她現(xiàn)在也帶來好吃的東西給這個可憐的、生病的魔術(shù)師！看到所有這些善意的舉動真好。

Soon Miss Matty was making a coloured ball for the little girl, Phoebe, to play with. 'I've always been so fond of children,' she said to me sadly as we sat by the fire, 'and I dream sometimes that I have a little child of my own... I didn't expect to be "Miss Matty Jenkyns" all my life, you know,' she went on after a pause. 'But the person I expected to marry is dead, and he never knew why I refused him. Ah well, it doesn't matter now. I am very happy, my dear. I have such kind friends,' she continued, taking my hand.

不久，馬蒂小姐就給這個叫菲比的小女孩兒做了一個彩球讓她玩兒。“我一直很喜歡小孩兒，”我們坐在壁爐邊的時候她難過地對我說，“有時候我夢到自己有個小孩子……我可沒想到自己一輩子都是‘馬蒂·詹金斯小姐’，你知道，”她停了一會兒又繼續(xù)說，“但是我想嫁的人已經(jīng)死了，而且他永遠也不會明白我為什么拒絕他。唉，現(xiàn)在也不重要了。我很高興，親愛的。我有這么好的朋友。”她拿起我的手，接著說道。

As I knew about Mr Holbrook, I could think of nothing suitable to say, and we were both silent.

因為我了解霍爾布魯克先生的事情，所以不知道該說些什么合適的話，我們倆就都沉默了下來。

One day soon after this, I asked the conjurer's wife if Miss Pole's story about twin brothers was true.

不久之后的一天，我問魔術(shù)師的妻子，波爾小姐說的孿生兄弟的事是不是真的。

Quite true,' she said, 'though I don't know how anyone can mistake Thomas for the real Signor Brunoni. Thomas is a good man, and he paid all our bills at the Rising Sun, but he can't do the ball-trick as well as my husband can. And he's never been in India, so he doesn't know how to wear a turban.'

“沒錯，”她說，“雖然我不知道人們怎么會把托馬斯錯當成真的布魯諾尼先生。托馬斯是個好人，他替我們支付了日出旅館的所有賬單，不過他那個玩球的戲法沒有我丈夫玩得好。他也從沒去過印度，所以他不知道怎么戴穆斯林頭巾。”

Have you been in India?' said I, rather surprised.

“你去過印度嗎？”我說，感覺很驚奇。

She told me that her husband had been sent there in the army. She had gone with him but, one after another, their children had died out there. 'That cruel India!' she said. 'I was going mad. When Phoebe, this last child, was born, I told my Sam I must return to England.'

她告訴我她丈夫曾被派到那里參軍。她也和他一起去了，可是，他們的孩子卻一個接一個地死在那里。“殘忍的印度！”她說，“我都快瘋了。最后一個孩子菲比出生的時候，我告訴薩姆我一定要回英國。”

So, carrying her baby, she had left her husband to go to Calcutta. She had walked a hundred miles, from village to village. People had given her food and milk, she said. And once, when the baby was ill, she had been helped by a kind Englishman living among the Indians.

所以，她抱著孩子，離開丈夫去了加爾各答。她走了100英里，從一個村莊走到另一個村莊。人們給她食物和牛奶，她說。有一次，孩子生病了，一個生活在印度人中間的好心的英國人幫了她。

And you reached Calcutta safely?'

“你安全抵達了加爾各答嗎？”

Yes. And after two years, Sam was able to come home. He'd learnt some tricks from an Indian, so he began to work as a conjurer. Then, after a while, he employed his twin brother to help him.'

“是的，兩年后，薩姆也可以回家了。他從一個印度人那里學到了一些把戲，于是就開始當魔術(shù)師。后來又過了一段時間，他就雇自己的孿生兄弟來幫忙。”

And Phoebe was well again?'

“菲比的病也好了？”

Yes. That good kind Aga Jenkyns at Chunderabaddad had helped me to save her.'

“是的，昌德拉巴達那位好心的阿加·詹金斯幫我救活了她。”

Jenkyns!' said I.

“詹金斯！”我說。

Yes. Jenkyns. I'm beginning to think all people with that name are kind. Here in Cranford, there's that nice old lady who comes every day to see Phoebe!'

“是的，詹金斯。我覺得所有姓這個姓的人都是好人。在克蘭福德這個地方，就有個好心的老夫人每天都來看望菲比！”